Finger-ring.



PATBNTED DEC. 19, 1905.

J. E. FITZGERALD.

FINGER RING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.8, 1905.

a VEN 720 MT/VEESEEI 0AM; (83x31 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FINGER-RING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed September 8, 1905. Serial No. 277,595.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. FITZGERALD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Finger-Rings, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Like reference-letters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a finger-ring having my improvement. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in section on line 3 3 of Fig. 4 and shows the interior of the box-head when the Signet-plate has been removed. Fig. 4 is a view partly in elevation and partly in diametrical 'section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3 and illustrates the position of the parts at the time when the stud of the signetplate is first inserted in the guide-slot of the spring-tongue. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the signet-plate. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 7 is a view partly in elevation and partly in diametrical section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3 and shows the parts in their respective places when the Signet-plate is being detached from its locking position.

My invention relates to those finger-rings which have detachable signet-plates; and it consists of the novel construction and combination of the several parts hereinafter described, and specifically set forth in the claims.-

The purpose of my invention is to simplify the construction of such finger-rings and to facilitate the attachment and detachment of the Signet-plate.

This invention is an improvement on the finger-ring shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 766,435, issued to me and dated August 2, 1904.

In the drawings, A representsa finger-ring, and B the ornamental head. This ring and head may be of any desired shape and configuration. As shown in Figs. 4 and 7, the head B is a box, preferably in the shape of a cone-frustum. On the interior side of the wall of the box-head B is a circumferential ledge a, parallel to the outer edge of said wall, but slightly distant from said outer edge. At the bottom of the box-head B is a small aperture 6, preferably circular in shape.

A block 0 is secured to the bottom of the box-head B by soldering or otherwise. A

spring-tongue D, preferably in the approximate shape of an isosceles triangle, is placed upon the block C and fastened thereon by a pin or screw 0. This spring-tongue is made of tempered stock and extends diametrically in the box-head B. Its base rests upon the block C beneath and is preferably in contact on top with the under side of the ledge a. The spring-tongue D is bent, as shown in Fig. 4, so that its free end normally touches the bottom of the box-head B. The spring-tongue D has a guide-slot,(shownin Fig. 3,) whose end near the pin 0 is semicircular in shape and whose sides are straight and converge to an apex.

The signet-plate E has a periphery of such shape as to enable said plate to fit snugly and exactly within the wall of the box-head B and is of such thickness that When it rests on the ledge a its outer surface is exactly even and flush with the outer edge of the wall of the box-head B, as seen in Fig. 1 and most plainly in Fig. 7. At the center of the Signet-plate E is a stud F, which has a round or convex head or knob (Z and whose shank is preferably elliptical in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 3 and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6. It is desirable to have the sides of the stud which come in contact with the tapering edges of the slot straight and of such a taper as to fit slidingly against said edges in order to gain as much and as extended contact and wearingsurface as possible. If the box-wall is tapering, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7, the edge of the Signet-plate E should be beveled to fit, as represented in Fig. 5. The Signet-plate E is for the display of an initial, crest, or other ornamental design, as illustrated in Fig. 2, or, if desired, it may be fitted with settings or prongs to hold a gem or stone.

The operation of my said improved device is as follows: The Signet-plate E is placed in the position indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, the stud F, with the knob d, being inserted through the large semicircular end of the guide-slot of the spring-tongue D. The Signet-plate E in this position rests upon the outer edge of the wall of the box-head B, as seen in Fig. 4. The signet-plate E is then pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow 00. of this movement is that the inner surface of the knob d of the stud F of the signet-plate E moves along to a position in which the knob underlies the spring-tongue D, and from that position forward the under side of the springtongue D is in contact With the inner surface of the knob (Z. In the further movement of the Signet-plate E in the direction indicated The result by the arrow as the knob d has a cam function, and as it slides along under the springtongue D lifts the spring-tongue D and increases the tension of the spring. The converging edges of the guide-slot of the springtongue D truly centers the signet-plate E in the box-head B, and the ellipticity of the shank F in cross-section (which shank slides along the said guide-slot) directs accurately the signet-plate E to its locking position. When the signet-plate E has been pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow :1; so far that the knob cl has come to the aperture 6 in the bottom of the box-head B, the force of the spring-tongue D causes the knob d to descend into and to be seated in the aperture 5, as at that instant the Signet-plate E is exactly in position to be seated on the ledge a and to fit down within the box-head B with its outer surface flush with the outer edge of the wall of the box-head B. The pressure of the springtongue D upon the inner surface of the knob d holds the Signet-plate E forcibly in its said locked position, which is the wearing position of my improved device.

When it is desired to remove the signetplate, a tool or piece of stiff wire having a flat or tapered end, as may be preferred, as illustrated at G in Fig. 7 is used. The tool Gr is placed with its operative end at or in the aperture Z) of the bottom of the box-head B and is pressed inwardly, as indicated by the arrow y in Fig. 7. This inward pressure of the tool G upon the knob d of the stud F of the Signet-plate E unseats said knob 03 from the aperture 5 and lifts the stud F and pushes out the Signet-plate E from the wall of the box-head B to the elevated position indicated in Fig. 7 by dotted lines. This inward pressure of the tool G also causes the knob d, by its inner surface in contact with the under surface of the spring-tongue D, to raise the said spring-tongue to the position shown in Fig. 7. A movement of the Signet-plate E (when in the position shown in'dotted lines in Fig. 7) in the direction indicated by the arrow 2 results in the sliding of the stud F of the signet-plate along the guide-slot of the spring-tongue D, and when said stud comes into the enlarged rounded end of said slot the Signet-plate E, with its stud F and knob d, is easily detached from the ring.

In the construction and use of my said improved finger-ring the central aperture 6 in the bottom of the box-head B may be dispensed with, so that the signet-plate E can be detached without the aid of the tool G or any metallic instrument. A piece of any suitable wax can be made to adhere to the outer ornamental surface of the signet-plate with sufficient strength to seize upon the Signet-plate, draw it upward, and to slide it from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This is a Wholly novel feature in finger-rings having detachable Signet-plates. By making the box-head without any aperture for the purpose of disengaging the Signet-plate the head of the ring presents more nearly the appearance of being solid.

I claim as a novel and useful invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In afinger-ring, the combination of a boxhead, a spring-tonguehaving a slot and mounted at one end in the box-head, and a signetplate having a stud which is adapted to enter said slot and to move along said slot.

2. In a finger-ring, the combination ofaboxhead, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in the box-head and having a longitudinal slot, and a signetplate having a stud which is adapted to enter said slot and to move along said slot.

3. In afinger-ring, the combination ofaboX- head, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in the box-head and having a longitudinal V- shaped slot, and a signet-plate having a stud which is adapted to enter said slot and to move along said slot.

4. In a finger-ring, the combination of a boxhead, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in the box-head and having a longitudinal slot whose sides converge to an apex at one end and whose opposite end is semicircular, and a signet-plate having a stud engageable with the spring-tongue in said slot and movable longitudinally of said slot and provided with a knob whose diameter is slightly less than the diameter of said enlarged end of the slot.

5. In a finger-ring, the combination of a boxhead having an inwardly-extending ledge upon the wall thereof, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in the box-head and having a longitudinal slot, a signet-plate adapted to fit in said box-head and to rest against said ledge, and a stud mounted on the signet-plate and adapted to enter and move along said slot of the spring-tongu e.

6. In a finger-ring, thecombination of a boxhead, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in said box-head having an inwardly-extending ledge upon the wall thereof, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in the box-head and having a longitudinal slot, a Signet-plate adapted to fit in said box-head and to rest against said ledge, a stud mounted on the Signet-plate and adapted to enter and move along said slot, and a knob on said stud arranged to underlie the spring-tongue and capable of a sliding cam action on the spring-tongue to vary the spring tension thereof as said stud of the signet-plate moves in said slot.

7 In a finger-ring, the combination of a boxhead, having an inwardly-extending ledge on the wall thereof and a central aperture in the bottom, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in the box-head and having a longitudinal slot, a signet-plate adapted to enter and fit in said box-head and to rest against said ledge, and a stud mounted on the Signet-plate at the center thereof and extending through said slot and movable along said slot, which stud is adapted to enter said aperture and to be seated therein by the force of said spring-tongue.

8. In a finger-ring, the combination of a boX- head having a ledge on the inner side of the wall thereof, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in said box-head and having a longitudinal slot, a Signet-plate adapted to fit in the box-head and to rest on the ledge thereof, a stud mounted on the signet-plate and adapted to enter said slot and to move along the same, and a cam carried by said stud and adapted to Vary the tension of the spring-tongue according to the position of the stud in said slot.

' 9. In a finger-ring, the combination of a boxhead having a ledge on the inner side of the wall thereof and a central aperture through the bottom, a spring-tongue mounted at one end in the box-head and having a longitudinal V-shaped slot, a Signet-plate adapted to fit in said box-head and to rest on the ledge thereof, a stud mounted on the Signet-plate, adapted to enter said slot and to move along said slot, and a knob on said stud adapted to enter and be seated in said aperture by the force of said spring-tongue and able when pressed inwardly to disengage from said aperture and to disengage the Signet-plate from box-head provided with one member of a lock ing device, a Signet-plate provided with another member of a locking device and slidable on said box-head, and a slotted spring-tongue adapted to guide one of said locking members into engagement with the other locking member.

11. The improved finger-ring herein described, consisting of the combination of a ring A, the box-head B on the ring A and having the inner ledge 64 on its wall and the central aperture Z) through its bottom, the block C in the box-head, the spring-tongue D mounted at one end on the block 0 and having a V- shaped slot with a semicircular end and a signet-plate E having'a stud F with a knob 61 at the end thereof which stud and knob extend through said slot, all arranged and operated substantially as specified.

In testimony whereofI aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN E. FITZGERALD.

Witnesses:

WARREN R. PERCE, ANNIE E. Planes. 

